1984 #2

Winston is having trouble believing what Big Brother is saying because he has begun to think for himself and realizes that there is more to life than what Big Brother has set out. He knows that he is being lied to, even in his job he experiences the lie every day (his job is to rewrite the past). His small acts of defiance are a form of protest only for himself. They are silent ways for him to rightfully think for the first time in a long time. His protesting is similar to Occupy Wall Street, but it is nowhere near the extent that Occupy goes through. They are alike as they are both fighting against the government and fighting towards more rights and freedom. The mass sees Winston's protests as dangerous and ridiculous, while the mass finds Occupy's protests as less of a threat, more misinformed than dangerous. In a sense, we have not become as Orwellian as you can get. We are much more free than Winston ever thought he could be.